A Volume of Springtime Haiku
by soft lite
Summary: CJ announces and begins her romantic relationship with Danny. Sequel to "Bronze and Gold" and "Bronze" and "Gold."
1. The Announcement

Title: "A Volume of Springtime Haiku" (1/6) (CJ/Danny.  
Author: soft lite.  
Characters: CJ, Danny, the senior staff, Jed, Carol, Charlie, Abbey, Gail, and various reporters.  
Rating: G.  
Disclaimer: Characters from "The West Wing" are not mine.  
Spoilers: Through Season 5's "The Warfare of Genghis Khan." Archive: If you want to.  
Author's note: Thanks to everyone for their feedback on "Bronze and Gold." This is the sequel. Also be warned that we're going even farther here into my alternate universe where the conflict of interest issue is not dealt with in as satisfying a way as some people would like.  
  
10:58 p.m. Saturday, March 20, 2004  
  
Carol had known for almost half the day that something strange was going on. It was unusual enough that she would be called in on a Saturday afternoon, but to still be at work at almost 11? And then there were the odd, unscheduled meetings that CJ'd had with various members of the senior staff. Finally, there was the cryptic phone message, "CJ, Danny called to say it's done and he's on his way."  
  
This message didn't strike CJ as peculiar in any way, "Thanks Carol. Could you call senior staff and tell them we're meeting in the Oval in ten minutes? And then you need to come with me."  
  
"Come with you where?"  
  
"To the Oval Office."  
  
"You want me to go to a Senior Staff meeting?"  
  
"Carol, it's on one issue. You're going to need to be fully up to speed on it. And if Danny can be there, so can you."  
  
"Okay." Carol made the phone calls and then walked with CJ. They arrived at the Oval Office and Charlie waved them in.  
  
"How's it going, Claudia Jean?" the President asked.  
  
"Good. We're ready."  
  
"It's a go?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Fantastic. Are we going to tell Danny that?"  
  
Josh, who had just arrived, pointed out, "I don't see how we're going to keep it a secret."  
  
Leo agreed, "I don't think we need to."  
  
At that moment, Danny arrived and started handing out pages, "Type's not set yet, so this is just the text. I brought one copy of the photos that will run with it," these he handed to CJ. "I'm sorry I didn't get back sooner. My editor and I had to negotiate with the metro and family/life editors about which page it would run on."  
  
"And?" CJ asked pointedly.  
  
"Front page of the family section."  
  
"So it'll be in full color," Toby observed.  
  
The First Lady entered the room, "Well, the pictures will be. I'm sure they're not doing the text in color."  
  
"Mrs. Bartlet, it's a pleasure to see you," Danny greeted her with a handshake and a copy of the article.  
  
By this time, everyone in the room was reading. Eventually, in a low and strained voice, CJ whispered, "This is really touching."  
  
"Thank you."  
  
"How much of this was in your safety deposit box?"  
  
"The part about the rings."  
  
"That whole part? That's long. When you talked about a drop in . . . Is this what you meant when you said you'd kinda written something about me?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"What did you write it for?"  
  
"It doesn't matter."  
  
"Tell me."  
  
After pausing and not being able to think of a way out of it, Danny admitted, "I wrote it in case we got engaged before this Administration was over."  
  
"So you edited it to remove references to me."  
  
"No. I wrote it that way figuring that the story would be like the preamble to the announcement. Then when you went to brief wearing this ring that had been in the paper, you'd get questions and could do the actual announcement."  
  
"Clever," the President commented.  
  
"Too bad the ring's missing," Josh added.  
  
CJ glared at him, "Thanks for the salt, Josh."  
  
Leo, not wanting the meeting to deteriorate any farther, asked, "Anyone have any issues with the story?" Silence. "Anything CJ needs to be prepped for that she's not already?" More silence.  
  
Abbey, ever practical, "Then I suggest we all go and get five or six hours of sleep.  
  
But Leo had one more question, "Danny when does this appear on the web and when does it appear in print?"  
  
"It'll be posted on the web sometime between 3 and 4 a.m., and paper will start hitting the streets sometime between 4 and 5 a.m."  
  
"Yeah. We'll plan on an 8 a.m. briefing, but if the natives are getting restless earlier, we may have to do it earlier."  
  
"Right," CJ agreed, standing up and moving with the others toward the door, "Carol, Danny, walk with me."  
  
They walked for a while also with Toby and Josh, "Hey Toby, maybe this'll be a big enough scandal to distract everyone from you and the unmarried mother of your children." CJ smacked Josh firmly in the back of the head and moved away from them.  
  
"Carol, I'm sorry to throw you in the deep end like that. Did you have any questions?"  
  
"If I did, shouldn't I have asked them back there?"  
  
"I wasn't sure you'd be comfortable with that."  
  
"How much of this," Carol waved the pages, "is true?"  
  
CJ turned sharply to Danny, "That's a good point. I should know that before I go on national television."  
  
"It's all true," Danny answered simply.  
  
Carol sardonically added, "Which is more than we can say for CJ's response tomorrow."  
  
"How would you know?" CJ asked suspiciously.  
  
"Just guessing."  
  
"For your information, everyone's signed off on honest but not entirely candid."  
  
"Okay."  
  
CJ looked mildly annoyed, "Go home. Both of you." And she picked up her things and left. Carol followed her out, but Danny lingered in her office for another minute before leaving.  
  
---  
  
The next morning, CJ arrived just minutes before the 7 a.m. Senior Staff meeting. Not seeing a pen on the top of her desk, she opened a drawer for a new one. There, lying on top, was a piece of peach parchment that she had never seen before. Pulling it out and quickly glancing over it, she realized it was Haiku.  
  
"CJ, you're late for Senior Staff," Carol pointed out as she arrived.  
  
"Right," CJ agreed, sticking the poem back in the drawer and grabbing a pen. As CJ walked quickly towards the meeting, she couldn't help but wonder where the poem had come from.  
  
---  
  
"Hi Carol," Danny greeted with a smile as he walked into CJ's office.  
  
"Danny," Carol smiled back. "She's in Senior Staff."  
  
"I figured. I was hoping you would help me with something."  
  
"If I can."  
  
"I want to give these to CJ," Danny held up a paper bag. "One at a time, in secret, hidden in various places."  
  
"What are they?"  
  
Danny pulled a sheaf of variously-colored pieces of paper out of the bag and arrayed them in front of her. "Pick one and read it."  
  
"Pastel parchment?" Carol sounded perhaps skeptical or perhaps impressed as she pulled one out, "Haiku about a flower."  
  
"Right."  
  
"So you want me to help you hide poetry for CJ to find?"  
  
"Yes. Because technically I shouldn't be able to do that myself."  
  
Carol held up a hand, "Wait – she had a peach one of these this morning!"  
  
"Yeah. Last night her drawer wasn't completely closed, so I just let it fall in."  
  
"There are some people who would be disturbed that you were able to do that."  
  
"Which is why I'm hoping to enlist you and Josh to help."  
  
Carol looked in the bag, "Danny, there must be 30 of these things."  
  
"More or less. There aren't quite as many in the other bag."  
  
"Where did you get them?"  
  
"I wrote them."  
  
"When?"  
  
"The poems I started writing about a year ago. Yesterday I got the parchment and wrote one. Today I couldn't sleep, so I copied the rest."  
  
"Okay. You want me to hide all of them now or just a few?"  
  
"Just a few."  
  
"Okay. I'll keep the rest in this bag with my personal stuff."  
  
"Okay. Thanks."  
  
"Yeah. Good luck this morning."  
  
"Thanks."  
  
---  
  
By 7:45, Carol was relieved to see CJ returning, "They're getting restless."  
  
"Yeah, I figured. Quite a lot of them here?"  
  
"Everyone, as far as I can tell."  
  
"Why don't you go give a ten minute warning, and I say I won't come until they're in their seats and quiet."  
  
"Okay."  
  
--  
  
Fourteen minutes later, CJ wiped her sweaty palms, picked up her notebook, bade Gail farewell, and went to the crowded but silent briefing room. "And a bright and early good morning to you all. I knew many of you would be concerned about this earthquake in India, but I had no idea so many would be here so early on a Sunday morning." CJ paused and looked around the room, daring anyone to suggest there was something on their minds other than death, destruction, and injury. "Currently there are 176 people confirmed dead, but it's only been a couple hours, and there are thousands missing. Any questions?" As CJ expected, nearly every hand in the room shot up and dozens of people began calling her name. "Chris?"  
  
"CJ, are you the unnamed woman in Danny's article?"  
  
"What would make you think that?"  
  
"Well, everyone who's been here a while knows he's got a crush on you."  
  
"Okay." CJ took a deep breath. "Is everyone familiar with this article?" Seeing many nods around the room, she continued, "Then you must have read what I read: that the woman in the article was unaware of Danny's affections or intentions."  
  
Chris was persistent, "But did Danny talk to you after the ring was stolen?"  
  
"Yes. And yes. Laura?"  
  
"Have you accepted his proposal?"  
  
"Danny hasn't proposed, and I think he knows that I could say nothing other than, 'No,' to a proposal from a guy I've never dated. Tim?"  
  
"Do you plan to date Danny?"  
  
"You mean if Danny were to ask me out on a date today?"  
  
"He hasn't?"  
  
"No."  
  
"But if he did?"  
  
"Don't you think he should have to find that out the hard way? Mark?"  
  
"Would anyone in this Administration object if you dated a reporter?"  
  
"Are you asking me out?"  
  
"No, I meant Danny."  
  
"I can't speak for everyone in this Administration since I haven't asked, but I would hope that they would have enough respect for my professionalism and integrity to trust me. Paul?"  
  
"Are you going to take a question from Danny or let him make a statement?"  
  
"You think Danny needs to ask a question about the article he wrote?" CJ paused here to allow the laughter to die down. "As for Danny making a statement, all of you work together in this building, so I'd think that if you wanted a quote from him, you wouldn't need me to direct him to a podium to give it. Steve?"  
  
"Is the Administration or anyone in the Administration doing anything to help with the recovery of the ring?"  
  
"Steve, the ring was just one of many items Danny lost in the robbery, and no, we're leaving that to the police. Last question. Katie?"  
  
"What was your overall reaction to Danny's article?"  
  
"I thought it was a touching reminder of the personal effects of a kind of crime I quote stats to you about every couple of months. Thank you, everyone." 


	2. First Date Disaster

Title: "A Volume of Springtime Haiku" (2/6) (CJ/Danny.  
Author: soft lite.  
Poetry written by: CJ Clanton sparesmom at yahoo dot com Characters: CJ, Danny, the senior staff, Jed, Carol, Gail, and various reporters.  
Rating: G.  
Disclaimer: Characters from "The West Wing" are not mine.  
Spoilers: Season 5 through "The Warfare of Genghis Khan." Author's note: A big thank you to CJ Clanton for volunteering to write poetry for this story!  
  
Sunday morning, March 21, 2004  
  
Danny found this particular briefing difficult to sit through. On very little sleep, he needed to react appropriately surprised as he listened to the woman he had very publicly confessed his love for mostly evade questions. Still, this was the humiliation he had agreed to. And CJ's answer about dating a reporter gave him hope.  
  
Of course the moment the briefing was over, Danny was surrounded by his peers, wanting answers to all kinds of questions. He found it rather overwhelming, standing in the middle of a crowd trying to hear and answer one question while people were loudly asking him a dozen others. The longer this continued, the more his already high respect for CJ's skill grew. At last the crowd dispersed, and eventually Danny was alone.  
  
Before he could escape, Josh appeared in the doorway and beckoned towards Danny, "Come talk." Danny followed to Josh's office. "Have a seat," Josh offered as he closed the door. "CJ pointed out that no one's talked to you about ground rules, and she thinks someone should, so I volunteered."  
  
"That was big of you."  
  
"Well, you know, only after making Toby and Leo squirm."  
  
"Ah."  
  
"So, as you know from the briefing, you can ask CJ for a date. You know, a first date, so public –"  
  
"It'll be VERY public what with the current press interest."  
  
"Yeah. My point is, you can't go to her apartment or take her to yours. Maybe chaste kisses."  
  
"Basically a 1950s, under daddy's eye, first date."  
  
"It's just at the beginning, you know."  
  
"It's okay. I understand. People are going to be watching, so they need to see me woo her, for what, days, weeks, months?"  
  
"I think it'll be a gradual thing. For now, she'll keep her office shades open, but you can go in there and close the door and talk about this kind of thing or whatever. My guess is after a couple of weeks, folks'll lose interest and you can do what you want."  
  
"Okay. Can I ask you about a different thing or are there more rules?"  
  
"Shoot."  
  
"I wrote some things for CJ and I'd like to hide them for her to find, but I really can't, so I've asked Carol to help, and I thought you might, too."  
  
"You wrote what sorts of things?"  
  
"Poems."  
  
"Danny Concannon writes poetry?" Josh asked in a mocking voice. "Like 'I saw London –'"  
  
"Not like that."  
  
"Like what?" Danny pulled an envelope out of his jacket pocket and pulled a piece of sea foam parchment out and handed it to Josh, who read it aloud,  
  
Eyes like summer sky Bottomless, fathomless blue Laughing just for me  
  
"Wow," Josh reacted with a totally straight face. "That is really sappy. And you've got, what, a dozen of them there?" Josh speculated, peering at the envelope. "Are they all like this?"  
  
"If you don't want to help, just say so."  
  
"No, hiding things for CJ to find sounds like fun. Hand it over." Josh took the envelope and put it in his own pocket. "Now go talk to CJ before she climbs the walls."  
  
---  
  
When Danny arrived at CJ's office, she was absorbed in reading a thick report. He leaned in the doorway and said, "Knock, knock."  
  
"Who's there?" CJ asked without looking up.  
  
"I wasn't doing a joke, CJ. May I come in?"  
  
"Come in and have a seat." CJ wrote a note on the report, then finally looked up as she took off her glasses.  
  
Danny had closed the door and pulled a chair near Gail's bowl. "You don't always have to do that, you know."  
  
"Do what?"  
  
"Take off your glasses."  
  
"You like the glasses?"  
  
"Oh yeah. Very sexy."  
  
CJ raised her eyebrows in surprise. "So did you come here just to flirt or did you need something?"  
  
"I needed to see you smile. You don't have time to flirt?"  
  
"I do." CJ smiled but her attention seemed to be distracted by Gail. "As a matter of fact," she said as she pulled a piece of dark aqua parchment out from underneath Gail's bowl:  
  
Smile breaks like the dawn Warm rays brighten the sky Washing over me  
  
As she read this to Danny, he could see her blush. "I also found one early this morning," and she opened the drawer and pulled out the peach:  
  
Hereyes can twinkle A thousand stars in the sky Bright, faraway light  
  
"I assume you're responsible for these," CJ accused with a smile that reached her eyes and made them sparkle.  
  
"I wrote them, yes," Danny admitted, "but I had inside help placing them."  
  
"I'm glad. I'm enjoying them, but I'll enjoy them more knowing you're not skulking around, risking getting my colleagues upset about what you might have seen."  
  
"Yeah, I also want to avoid that." Danny sat grinning, basking in CJ's smile, the fire in her eyes brightening his soul. "Would you like to have dinner with me?"  
  
"I would, but it's hard for me to plan for time to go out."  
  
"I know. We can go out when you have time, eat here or in the press room if you can, and when you have to be at meetings or need a break from me or whatever, that's fine. We could tentatively plan to go out for dinner tonight. Monday night you'll probably be watching that speech on TV. We could watch it together."  
  
"Okay. For tonight, let's go somewhere where I won't have to change clothes first. And I do have to watch the Vice President tomorrow, and it would be more fun with you."  
  
"Will you have dinner with me every night this week?" Danny asked with a hopeful voice and a glint in his eye.  
  
CJ nodded. "Every weeknight this week. Friday's that thing."  
  
"Right, the First Lady's birthday party got postponed."  
  
"Yep. Why don't you come with me to that?"  
  
"Why don't you first check and make sure I'd be welcome."  
  
"You will be, but I'll check anyway." Any further conversation was curtailed by Carol knocking, entering, and handing CJ a note. "I have to take this phone call now."  
  
"Okay. See you later."  
  
---  
  
Remarkably, CJ was able to meet Danny at the restaurant on time. She had had to come directly from the White House, though, so she had chosen to remove her jacket and wear just the sheath dress. As they had expected, most of the tables that had been empty before they arrived were soon occupied by groups of White House reporters.  
  
"At least the management will be glad we helped them fill their seats on a Sunday night," Danny remarked.  
  
CJ glared around and said, just a little too loudly, "I think you're assuming they'll order food and leave good tips."  
  
Danny glanced around and saw several of his peers pick up menus. "Nice," he whispered, turning back to CJ. "Can we try to ignore them for the rest of the evening?"  
  
"I'll try," CJ promised.  
  
For almost three hours, she succeeded. They joked over appetizers, shared stories over dinner, and gazed fondly at each other over dessert. It was this last that caused the problem. In addition to the White House press corps, there were also a few local gossip columnists present, and one decided to try to take their picture. The unexpected flash in the lowly-lit room blinded CJ for a second, but apparently not many of the others present. By the time CJ could see properly, people were surging around them, Danny had thrown money on the table and was offering her his hand. "We've got to get you out of here before this becomes a riot."  
  
CJ, however, had another idea. She took Danny's hand, stood up, then stepped out of her shoes and onto her chair, and called, "Stop!" The vast majority of those present were from her press room and were accustomed to following her instructions, and her commanding voice and posture captured the attention of the rest. She pointed to the reporters holding the gossip columnist with the camera. "You will let go of him, pay your bills, go home and write and send apologies to the manager. Everyone else will finish up, pay, and leave quietly. And nothing like this had better happen again." CJ's glare seemed to work again, and by the time she had her shoes back on, the manager was at her side to thank her, and Katie and Steve were offering to walk Danny and CJ to their cars. Considering that they had nearly been in the middle of a riot, they agreed. There were no kisses that night, CJ mused, but at least there had been no punches, either.  
  
---  
  
Monday morning, March 22, 2004  
  
At the next morning's Senior Staff meeting, Josh couldn't let the evening go without comment. "A few steamy looks from you are enough to cause a riot, CJ?"  
  
Before CJ could respond, Toby pointed out, "I think the camera was responsible for the near-riot."  
  
"Which our CJ extinguished before it got ugly," Leo added proudly.  
  
Changing the subject, the President dryly remarked, "I think we accidentally switched copies of the agriculture report yesterday, CJ."  
  
"Why do you think that, Mr. President?"  
  
"Because my wife denies leaving this petal pink poem in mine. So if this isn't yours, I've got a secret admirer, and a big problem with my wife."  
  
Leo had taken the parchment from the President and now read it:  
  
This is not a date We're just two people walking Going the same way  
  
"I guess he didn't like the date last night," Leo finished.  
  
Josh admitted, "Actually, he said he wrote some of those a long time, and I put that one in the report before dinner last night."  
  
"Some of THOSE?" the President asked pointedly.  
  
"Yeah," CJ admitted. "I found two yesterday and another this morning."  
  
Toby offered, "Let's all just be grateful that it's Josh, not Danny, poking around in reports that haven't been released to the public yet."  
  
As everyone nodded, CJ asked, "Mr. President, may I bring Danny to the party Friday night?"  
  
"If he's off the record, sure."  
  
"Thank you sir."  
  
---  
  
For CJ, the rest of the day ran smoothly, but slowly, until she finally called a full lid at 5:17. Not unexpectedly, Danny followed her back to her office and flirted with her and Gail while they discussed dinner. Then Danny went to finish and file his story and order Chinese while CJ dealt with some things her colleagues wanted response on soon.  
  
About ten minutes before the Vice President's speech, CJ wandered into the press room. By this time, it was usually empty except for Danny. But tonight it looked like half the press corps had decided to eat in. CJ good-naturedly took the seat next to Danny and teased the others, "I'm not sure there are enough chaperones here for our second date, maybe I should go pull some of the senior staff and assistants from their desks."  
  
Danny shot back, "I'm not sure this is the RIGHT supervision for any date – you know some of them were nearly involved in a riot last night."  
  
At this, Mark complained, "That wasn't our fault. If the twerp with the camera hadn't gotten in your faces, we would have been fine."  
  
"Well, here's your chance to show how mature you are," CJ offered. "Just keep in mind that at least one person in this room is required for her job to listen to this, and I'll be in a lousy mood tomorrow if I have to re-watch it in my office tonight because you folks were making too much noise."  
  
Those were the only warnings anyone needed, and everyone ate in near silence for the 32 minutes that the Vice President spoke. As they continued listening to the analysts and spin doctors, several people offered their own opinions, but Danny and CJ were content to sit near each other and smile.  
  
Their smiles disappeared, however, when a fairly new reporter nearby spilled his beer all over. Quickly everyone used their napkins to clean it up. But it wasn't enough. Steve headed to the restroom for some paper towels. In the meantime, CJ reached into her pocket, planning to offer her Kleenex. What came out of her pocket was a piece of buttercup parchment and a couple Kleenex. She quickly threw the Kleenex on the mess and tried to return the parchment to her pocket, but the reporters around her insisted she read it to them:  
  
Gail circles the bowl Emissary of my love Little confidante  
  
Afterwards, both CJ and Danny were quite red in the face as they listened to people laughing or saying, "Aw, that's sweet!" Of course the reporter's instinct kicked in for more than one of them, and they wanted to know, "Where did that come from?" "How did it get into your pocket?" "How did you know without reading it that you didn't want to share it with us?"  
  
Before CJ could leave the room, they had had to confess that Danny had written the poems for CJ, and that Carol and Josh were delivering them. As she left, CJ hoped that they would not tease Danny about it. At least not too much. 


	3. Storms and Kisses

Title: "A Volume of Springtime Haiku" (3/6) (CJ/Danny.  
Author: soft lite.  
Poetry written by CJ Clanton  
Characters: CJ, Danny, Carol, Josh, Toby, Leo, Gail, and various reporters.  
Rating: G.  
Disclaimer: Characters from "The West Wing" are not mine.  
Spoilers: Through Season 5's "The Warfare of Genghis Khan." Archive: If you want to.  
Author's note: A big thank you to CJ Clanton for volunteering to write poetry for this story!  
  
Tuesday morning, March 23, 2004  
  
On Tuesday, Danny began to feel that he could fall into a routine. Soon after arriving at the White House, he would check with Carol about possible good times to stop in to see CJ. Then he would go work on research and writing, leaving that for the briefings and visits with CJ. And there was the promise of dinner with her in the evening. Yes, Danny was feeling quite self-satisfied.  
  
And then there was the first briefing. He noticed that there was no hint of a smile on CJ's lips, and he couldn't catch her eye. After the briefing, on her way out of the room, CJ pulled a handful of sea shell colored tiny bits of paper out of her pocket and sprinkled them over his head with a glare.  
  
"I guess she wasn't so fond of that one, Danny," Mark observed.  
  
Danny tried to brush as many pieces as possible out of his hair, into his lap, and then to his pocket. "Brilliant deduction."  
  
Katie encouraged, "Don't just sit there and stew, go talk to her."  
  
Danny looked at Katie as he considered and then left. Unfortunately, Carol stopped him outside CJ's closed door. "She's on the phone."  
  
Danny sighed. "Could I use some of your tape?"  
  
"Sure," Carol agreed and watched with interest as Danny dumped the bits of paper out of his pocket and began piecing them together. "I know it's none of my business, but she was already in a foul mood before she found that."  
  
"Well, I'm glad to hear that, but I suspect this teasing her didn't help."  
  
Flamingo, she yells It's a ridiculous name I can't help but smile  
  
Danny read it with slight difficulty because there were some pieces missing. He turned it over and taped the back, too.  
  
As he was finishing, CJ came out and handed a file to Carol, then turned to him. "You. Inside." As soon as the door was shut behind them, CJ put her hands on her hips. "You weren't here earlier this morning."  
  
"No," Danny answered cautiously.  
  
"You weren't home, either."  
  
"No – I was at The Post," Danny explained quickly.  
  
Suspiciously, CJ asked, "You don't answer your cell when you're there?"  
  
"I turn it off when I'm in a meeting with my editor. You should have left a message."  
  
CJ sounded frustrated and gestured as she explained, "I didn't want to talk to your voice mail, I wanted to talk to you." She could see that he now looked concerned. "It's nothing to worry about. I just woke up in the middle of the night and wanted to talk to you, but I didn't want to wake you up in the middle of the night."  
  
"You can wake me up in the middle of the night."  
  
"I'll remember that in the future."  
  
"What did you want to talk about?"  
  
"Not so much talk as tell. I woke up and realized I haven't told you yet." CJ reached over and straightened his tie, then looked into his eyes and smiled. "I love you."  
  
Danny grinned back, "I love you, too," and was pleased when she lightly brushed her lips across his. But then she retreated behind her desk. "Are we still on for dinner tonight?" Danny asked while dropping the taped-together poem on her desk.  
  
"It'll have to be here, but yes. And let's do it here, here, because I don't need the gaggle babysitting us through another date."  
  
"Agreed."  
  
"I forgot to tell you yesterday that the president says it's fine for you to come to the First Lady's party as long as it's off the record."  
  
"I expected that."  
  
"So did I."  
  
"May I ask a favor?"  
  
"You may ask," CJ purred, leaning back, smiling serenely, and folding her hands in her lap.  
  
Danny's smile broadened and there was a pause before he remembered that he was going to ask her something. "Would you wear that gray dress?"  
  
For a moment, CJ had to search her memory. "From the State Dinner over four years ago?" she asked, raising her eyebrows in surprise.  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Not for the First Lady's birthday party." CJ could see his disappointment immediately and explained, "She doesn't like it. I should wear something that isn't going to cause her to spend the evening scolding me. I'll wear the gray dress the next time we go to a thing."  
  
"There'll be a next time?"  
  
"I certainly hope so."  
  
"So do I."  
  
For a few minutes, they sat smiling at each other and talking about nothing in particular, until Carol knocked and entered. "CJ, you've got senior staff in five."  
  
Both replied, "Okay," at the same time, laughed a bit, and Danny left while CJ collected her notes for the meeting.  
  
---  
  
When CJ arrived for the last briefing of the day, there was a bag on her podium. She hesitated, but Carol assured her it had been through security. "We each chipped in fifty cents," Chris explained, "except for Danny who chipped in a poem."  
  
"Which you have to read to us," Laura added, "because he refused to."  
  
CJ set her notebook down next to the bag, peeked inside, and pulled out a wooden box with pink and green insets made of some kind of stone in the shape of a rose. "This is beautiful," she said softly. "Thank you, everyone."  
  
"Read the poem!" several reporters encouraged.  
  
CJ opened the box and found a periwinkle parchment that was just the perfect size for this box.  
  
Roses are in bloom She lets me sit beside her I can feel her breathe  
  
"You can keep all the poems in it," Katie explained.  
  
The smile on CJ's face had grown as she read the poem aloud, and as Katie spoke, her eyes moved over the poem again. "Thank you all. This is really very thoughtful."  
  
"It's the least we could do considering how your first two dates went."  
  
Now a teasing glint appeared in CJ's eye. "Yeah, and believe me when I say we're not going to give you another chance any time soon. Let's start the briefing."  
  
---  
  
When Danny arrived at CJ's office for dinner, he discovered that not only was dinner there, but so were Josh and Toby. "I'm sorry. If you're in a meeting, I can come back later." His eyes fell on Josh and Toby's dinners. "Or we can cancel."  
  
"Don't be ridiculous," Josh piped up. "Come on in. We decided to join you for dinner."  
  
"And I've had no luck dissuading them," CJ added with a roll of her eyes.  
  
Josh patted the sofa between himself and CJ, "Come sit down. Let's eat dinner."  
  
Danny shrugged and joined them, "Whatever it takes to spend time with CJ." As he sat down, his hand found hers, their fingers interlaced, they smiled, and kissed briefly. Toby's sigh ensured their kiss would end quickly, and as Danny looked over, he saw Toby rolling his eyes. He also noticed something else. "Hey there, Gail. You and Toby have prime seating there."  
  
Josh complained, "Yeah, I can't see anything here. Switch with me, Toby."  
  
"Not on your life. I don't want to sit next to him."  
  
Despite Toby's words, they had a pleasant time. Danny was pleased to discover that CJ had no inhibitions about holding his hand or kissing him in front of her friends.  
  
Some of them, anyway. During one kiss, there was a knock on the door and when Leo opened it and said, "CJ," she practically jumped away from him. That was the end of their evening, anyway, because Leo needed the senior staff. And Danny left to think about how he was going to talk with CJ about this.  
  
---  
  
Wednesday, March 24, 2004  
  
Danny decided that at least on this day, he should not make the mistake he had made yesterday, so he was at the White House early enough to be there when CJ arrived. After watching her approach and hearing bits of Carol's morning litany, he was invited into CJ's office for just a minute. "Hey there, Fishboy, how are you?" CJ asked and then kissed him before he could answer.  
  
"Hum. It seems it's going to be a very good day," he answered after the brief kiss. "I brought you a poem," Danny explained, pulling an antique white parchment out of his pocket. CJ smiled and read it aloud.  
  
The cherry trees shed their petals a mantle of white across the grass She looks up at me with eyes full of trust The sun shines down marking our skin with leaf patterns and all around us the wind sings softly in the leaves Her body feels so warm leaning into mine trusting me She tilts her face up to mine and when I finally feel her kiss Ican barely comprehend how soft it is  
  
"Is this what you imagine us doing at the end of cherry blossom season?"  
  
"I hope."  
  
"So do I. Why did you bring this one in person? And it's not Haiku?"  
  
"I wrote it last night."  
  
"Last night?"  
  
"I had a dream about it last night."  
  
"You should have called me," CJ encouraged in a playful voice.  
  
"It was the middle of the night."  
  
"I wouldn't have minded."  
  
"You ARE looking like you're sleeping better, but I know you're in this building too much to get enough sleep."  
  
"I'm not sure a guy I've never had an unchaperoned date with should be talking about my sleep habits."  
  
"One of these days we'll have a date all by ourselves."  
  
"Yeah." CJ's smile turned a little sad as she read over the poem again, then she looked into Danny's eyes and apologized, "I'm sorry, but I have to work now."  
  
"Okay, but I want to talk with you later."  
  
"Keep in touch with Carol and she'll get you in."  
  
"Okay."  
  
Danny went directly from CJ's office to Josh's. "Do you have a minute?"  
  
"Sure. Several, actually."  
  
Danny went in, closed the door, and sat down. "There are a couple things I want to ask you about."  
  
"Sure, what?"  
  
Danny sized Josh up and decided to start with the easier part first. "Do you think that, you know, ANY time in the foreseeable future I could have dinner alone with CJ?"  
  
"Feeling a little frustrated?" Josh asked with a smirk.  
  
Danny frowned. "I'm serious, Josh. It took her more than four years to agree to a date. We haven't really had one yet. She's keeping me at a distance, and, perhaps jokingly, she said this was one reason."  
  
Josh sat back and seemed to consider this. "If you go out, there are gonna be reporters there."  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"You want to have dinner with CJ alone in her office tonight?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"I'll do what I can. You'll have to keep the shades open."  
  
"I know."  
  
"What else?"  
  
Danny felt uncomfortable. "Josh, you know you can tell me stuff off the record and nothing will happen."  
  
Now Josh looked uncomfortable, but he said, "Sure."  
  
"What's the thing with CJ and Leo?"  
  
"He thinks of her like a daughter," Josh replied immediately.  
  
"Yeah. But I think there's something else going on." When Josh didn't respond, Danny continued, "Last night she practically bolted away from me when Leo came in."  
  
Danny could tell Josh was avoiding his eyes. "Danny, CJ is going to kill me for telling you this." When Josh saw Danny was still staring steadily and expectantly at him, he relented. "About four and a half years ago, Leo noticed that you were flirting with CJ and she was beginning to flirt back. He had a talk with her. Several, actually. If he hadn't, I don't know what would have happened or when, but it might not have been four years before your first date."  
  
Danny sat and absorbed this information for a minute. "Okay."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Yeah. I should let you get back to work."  
  
"Okay."  
  
---  
  
Danny was disappointed that CJ's day was so busy, she had no time for him before dinner, but he looked forward to dinner. As Josh had promised, they were actually able to have dinner alone together. Danny soon found he had less interest in food than in putting his arms around CJ and touching and kissing her as much as she would allow. Given that her shades were all open, that was quite surprisingly a lot. But when he tried to slide his hand from her knee up an inch under her skirt, she pushed him gently away. "Well, since we don't seem to be eating, maybe we should talk."  
  
With a sigh, Danny agreed, "Okay. What do you want to talk about?"  
  
"Me? You're the one who said this morning you wanted to have a talk." Danny collapsed back against the cushions and closed his eyes. "What's wrong?" CJ asked, sounding concerned  
  
"I was going to ask you that."  
  
"What do you mean?" now sounding more suspicious  
  
After a long moment, Danny opened his eyes and looked at her. "CJ, why are you okay with kissing me in front of Josh and Toby but not Leo?"  
  
"I don't have a problem kissing you in front of Leo, he just startled me."  
  
"It was his voice, not his knock, that made you jump." CJ chewed her lip as she thought about this, and Danny could see her eyes growing more distant. Finally Danny decided any reaction would be better than none. "CJ, has Leo asked you not to date me?"  
  
Now anger flared in CJ's eyes and she stood and crossed the room and spoke with a voice full of resentment, "He was completely behind the decision we made over the weekend – you know he was."  
  
"What about before that?"  
  
CJ's eyes remained steely, but some of her anger evaporated to be replaced by sadness, "Leo thinks of me like a daughter and wants to protect me. So, yes, years ago he had words me with me about what could happen to me professionally if I were to get involved with someone in my press room."  
  
"Why didn't you tell me?"  
  
"There are some things reporters shouldn't know. If you were going to be angry at someone in the West Wing because I wouldn't date you, it needed to be me, not the Chief of Staff."  
  
Danny was relieved at least that CJ's story was consistent with Josh's. "Okay."  
  
"Okay?"  
  
"Well, I'm not jumping for joy, but I'm not mad."  
  
Before CJ could reply, her phone rang. "Hello. Yes Charlie, I'll be right there." Turning back to Danny, she explained, "I have to go now."  
  
"Okay." And CJ walked out. But Danny stayed, removed a cornflower blue parchment from his pocket, wrote a note on it, and left it in the middle of CJ's desk before leaving.  
  
---  
  
Hours later, CJ returned to her office, dropped into her chair, and found and read the card.  
  
Her eyes can be grey Sometimes the lightning flashes Clouded and stormy  
  
She looked at her watch, noted it was 12:03, remembered their earlier conversation, and dialed his number.  
  
"Danny Concannon."  
  
"I'm sorry," CJ offered quietly.  
  
"I know. It's okay," Danny replied gently. "Go get some sleep. I'll see you in the morning."  
  
"Okay." 


	4. Poems and Parties

Title: "A Volume of Springtime Haiku" (4/6) (CJ/Danny.  
Author: soft lite.  
Poetry written by CJ Clanton  
Characters: CJ, Danny, Abbey, Gail, Carol, Toby, Charlie, and Jed.  
Rating: G.  
Disclaimer: Characters from "The West Wing" are not mine. Monopoly isn't mine, either.  
Spoilers: Through Season 5's "The Warfare of Genghis Khan." Archive: If you want to.  
Author's note: A big thank you to CJ Clanton for volunteering to write poetry for this story! At long last, I may write the game of Monopoly that Spooky asked for long ago. Thanks also to Athena for discussing conflict of interest and what it's like to be in the public eye with me…ya'll can blame or thank her ;P for some pieces of this part. Which is NOT to say that I'm going to deal fully or realistically with conflict of interest…you've been warned.  
  
Thursday, March 25, 2004  
  
CJ was delighted to hear his voice so early in the morning. "It was already morning," he stated as though they were in the middle of a conversation. She rose and went to him as he entered and closed the door, and when they met, their fingers twined and their lips united.  
  
But only briefly, because the door opened and the First Lady walked in, holding up a piece of swan gray parchment.  
  
How can she not see When she looks into my eyes Things I cannot say  
  
She recited the Haiku from memory as she closed the door. "I would think you two would want to keep closer tabs on these things."  
  
Although they had stopped kissing when she entered, they had not moved away from each other. Instead, when their fingers disentangled, each put an arm around the other and CJ reached for the poem. "Thank you for bringing it down, Mrs. Bartlet. I'm sorry it got mixed into the President's papers – Josh thinks it's fun to see me find them during staff meetings."  
  
"When we're alone and talking about personal matters, you can call me Abbey. Remember? I can imagine that it would be fun to see you talking about peace in the Middle East and suddenly turn the page to find a poem about dating without dating or communicating without words."  
  
"Yeah, it's real fun," CJ said dryly and with a hint of irritation in her voice. "So is wondering whether Josh knows anything at all about how to not kill Gail," CJ commented, pointing towards the fishbowl.  
  
Danny and Abbey both looked to see a slightly-too-big-for-a-bowl-ornament bottle sticking from the gravel at the bottom of the fishbowl up a couple inches above the rim. Inside was a not-too-neatly rolled piece of pale turquoise parchment. Gail was swimming around it, looking more crowded than she was accustomed to. Abbey laughed. Danny didn't. "Hey, what's he trying to do to Gail?" Danny complained as he pulled his handkerchief out of his pocket and the bottle out of the bowl.  
  
"Obviously he doesn't have a good sense of scale," CJ commented with a smirk.  
  
"Men never do," Abbey agreed.  
  
Danny decided to ignore their goading. "This is Josh we're talking about – we should be glad it's not a beer bottle."  
  
CJ took the bottle from Danny, considered it for a moment, and then asked, "What are the chances we're going to be able to pull that parchment out of there?"  
  
"Zero," Abbey observed. "Give it to me. I do this professionally now." She took the bottle and smacked it on the inside of CJ's trash can. Pleased when it broke easily, she observed, "Much better than a bottle of champagne." Gingerly, she picked up the parchment and inspected it to make sure no glass was attached.  
  
Dripping on the floor Another trip in the pool Turn your head, Fishboy  
  
Wryly but with laughter in her eyes, Abbey asked, "So CJ, which one of them gets the doghouse first?"  
  
CJ smiled and declared, "Always Josh, Abbey, always Josh. Besides, the doghouse isn't where I want Danny."  
  
Abbey smiled knowingly as Danny blushed. "Oh CJ," Abbey asked just before opening the door to leave. "Have you asked Danny what dress he'd like to see you wearing tomorrow night?"  
  
"Not exactly," CJ hedged.  
  
Danny could see CJ's discomfort and remembered what CJ had told him about the First Lady's feelings about the gray dress. "How about the one from the Inauguration?"  
  
"Which one?" CJ and Abbey asked together, smiling at each other.  
  
"The second," Danny replied without hesitation.  
  
CJ continued smiling and shrugged, and Abbey nodded and raised her eyebrows. "Good choice. I'll see you tomorrow night, Danny. I expect a dance."  
  
"Yes, ma'am."  
  
---  
  
Finally today, CJ had a bit of time in the mid-afternoon to talk with Danny. "I've been thinking that we always get interrupted, even when we don't have a chaperone." She slowly ran her fingers up and down his suspenders under his jacket as she spoke.  
  
"Well, yeah," Danny agreed. "But isn't that what we expected?"  
  
"I guess," CJ admitted with a smile, allowing him to pull her closer. "I know my job is demanding and my colleagues and yours are persistent, but. . . ." CJ paused to think about how Danny would react. "Would you like to come with me to my brother's house on Saturday night? We do a dinner and board game thing as regularly as we can. This month it's pot roast and Monopoly. It would be him, his wife, their daughter, and us."  
  
Danny's enthusiasm sounded a little forced when he agreed, "Sure." After a hesitation, he added, "What does that have to do with being interrupted?"  
  
"My brother and his family aren't going to care if we kiss, you know, as long as we don't do anything their teenage daughter shouldn't see. They might even leave us alone for a while." CJ tried to reach for a kiss.  
  
Danny was catching on. "And in their house, no reporters would see, and if you're taking me to meet your brother, your colleagues are only going to call if it's super important."  
  
"Exactly."  
  
"Sounds fabulous," and now Danny, too, moved for a kiss.  
  
As if on cue, there was a knock on the door and Carol peeked in. "Sorry to interrupt. CJ, the president wants you."  
  
As CJ drew away from him, Danny commented in a low voice, "He's not the only one."  
  
CJ playfully slapped him as she left. "See you at dinnertime."  
  
"Okay."  
  
---  
  
As Danny approached CJ's office, he was pleasantly surprised to see that half of her shades were closed: those over the sofa were still wide open, as was her door. "Hi Danny," Carol greeted him with a smile, and, picking up some take out containers. "Come on in." She led him in, put the food on the table, and, as she was leaving commented, "Take some time off, CJ."  
  
CJ looked up and smiled at both of them. "Okay. Just a minute."  
  
Carol closed the door as she left. Danny sat down on the sofa. A moment later, CJ finished typing, went to lock the door, and then joined him. "Oh, I like this," Danny reached for CJ, pulling her close. And for once they were not interrupted. After a long and satisfying kiss, they parted, and Danny pointed out, "The food's getting cold."  
  
"Yeah." CJ smiled into his eyes for a moment. "Let's eat."  
  
"Okay."  
  
Carol had neatly stacked each meal with its napkin and silverware, and left a surprise that CJ found when she tried to spread her napkin on her lap: a lilac parchment.  
  
In the Rose Garden Her finger brushes my hand Neither speaks a word  
  
"These are beautiful, Danny. Thank you."  
  
"You're welcome," Danny replied, kissing her and setting the card on the table, away from their food. "I'm glad you're enjoying them."  
  
As they started to eat, CJ asked, "Why did you start writing them?"  
  
"Writer's curse," he answered glibly. At CJ's suspicious look, he added, "Last year when I was working on the Shareef story, you asked me what I was writing –"  
  
"You said, 'A volume of springtime Haiku!'"  
  
"Yes, and then I just couldn't get it out of my head. Haiku started forming, unbidden, in my mind – not at all what I needed while trying to write about Shareef – so I started keeping a notebook of them. And then, when it sounded like you'd date me, I got the nice paper and started copying them."  
  
"How many have you written?" When Danny only shrugged, CJ insisted, "I've already found like two dozen."  
  
Without meeting her eyes, he confessed, "I've supplied Carol and Josh each with three or four dozen. Poems, you know – not all of them are Haiku. And I have a feeling we're going to have to ask Josh to rediscover some of his or else they'll remain hidden until, like, two Administrations down the road." They both laughed a little at this.  
  
"They're lovely, Danny. Why are you embarrassed about this?"  
  
"I didn't think so many people would know about them and read or hear them."  
  
CJ stared at him in amazement, eyes wide. "For years he has had articles published almost daily in major newspapers with huge circulation not to mention they're archived for posterity, he wrote a very popular book – and he's embarrassed because a few dozen people know he also writes poetry."  
  
"I know it's dumb."  
  
"It's not dumb. It's sweet." CJ thought for a moment. "And even though I stand up there and talk to a bunch of reporters every day, I don't know if I'd be okay if they started asking me questions about my sex life. Not that I've had one recently, but I keep hoping," she added with a smirk.  
  
"So do I," Danny agreed.  
  
This time they didn't get even a brief kiss before there was a knock at the door followed by the sound of someone struggling with the doorknob. CJ rushed to open it and a rather put-out looking Toby announced, "You need to have someone from maintenance look at that!"  
  
"It was locked, Toby."  
  
Toby looked over at the sofa and saw Danny sitting with a plate of food on his lap. "Oh. Sorry. We have to go to work, CJ." At that moment, Danny's pager went off. "That'll be your notice to come to the White House, Danny. CJ'll see you in the briefing room in a bit."  
  
---  
  
3:36 a.m. Friday, March 26  
  
When Danny awoke and saw the clock, he realized he'd only been in bed for three hours. And he doubted he'd be getting back to sleep. After a moment's consideration, he reached for the phone.  
  
"CJ," answered a sleepy voice.  
  
"Hey."  
  
"Hey," she replied in a friendly tone.  
  
"You scolded me once for not calling you in the middle of the night."  
  
"What's up?"  
  
Danny ignored the urge to tease her. "I had a dream."  
  
"Was it a nice dream?"  
  
"A very nice dream. We were in bed together."  
  
"Were we naked – 'cause I've been having that dream."  
  
"No. Our jackets and shoes were off, but we were just kissing, rolling around, holding each other."  
  
"Hum." CJ sighed. "Too anxious for contact to bother taking clothes off?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"I don't think that's what's going to happen."  
  
"Maybe not the first time, but we have a whole lifetime ahead of us." He could tell from CJ's breathing that she was sleepy. "I'll hang up and let you go back to sleep."  
  
"Danny."  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Thanks for calling."  
  
"Go back to sleep."  
  
---  
  
It was still early, not yet 7, when Danny arrived at the White House and went to greet CJ. "Morning."  
  
She smiled as she turned to meet him. "Again." They kissed briefly despite her hands being full of papers.  
  
"Did you sleep well?"  
  
"Yeah, you put a very nice image in my mind. I had sweet dreams."  
  
"I'm glad."  
  
CJ noticed Danny wasn't looking so well rested, "Did you get back to sleep?"  
  
"No, I couldn't. Got up and showered and stuff."  
  
"Would that stuff have included writing more of these?" CJ withdrew a honeydew parchment that was peeking out of one of the files she was looking through.  
  
Picnic in the park Cherry petals in her hair I try not to stare  
  
"Maybe."  
  
CJ looked at her watch. "I have about ten minutes before Senior Staff, and I'm all ready. Want to walk on the North Lawn a bit?"  
  
Danny smiled and joked, "So we can drive Toby even more nuts?"  
  
CJ laughed a little. "Don't worry about him." They walked in silence, enjoying being outdoors together in the crisp early spring air, trees budding around them, occasionally glancing at each other to exchange smiles, sometimes aware that they could be seen from the street.  
  
Ten minutes later, their walk ended as Carol approached them and handed CJ the folder she'd need for her meeting. "You need to go now."  
  
"Yeah. I'll see you both later."  
  
---  
  
It was almost noon when Charlie brought Danny a note asking him to go to CJ's office. "Charlie, surely Carol doesn't have you running her errands?"  
  
"No," Charlie replied quietly and somewhat mysteriously. "Go now."  
  
Danny stepped out of the press area just in time to join the president's entourage which also seemed to be headed towards CJ's office. "Danny, come in," the president encouraged, holding out his hand, then closing the door behind them. "CJ, have you seen this yet?" From the blank look on her face, he surmised not. "It's the Enquirer. Something like this was bound to happen sooner or later. Probably a telephoto lens – I wouldn't have thought even that would work. Time for more landscaping."  
  
CJ and Danny had moved together, taken the "newspaper" from the president, and were looking in shock at the picture on the front page. CJ explained, "Well, this was clearly last night. And a telephoto lens wouldn't have been sufficient alone. Someone must have taken multiple pictures and digitally overlaid them to remove foreground stuff like the window panes and blinds – even though they're open, you can see them," she added, gesturing towards the window.  
  
"Yeah," the president agreed. "From now on when you and Danny are going to share a few passionate kisses on the couch, make sure the outdoor blinds are closed."  
  
"Right."  
  
"It's not like anyone is upset about this, CJ. I just didn't want to you hear about it first in your press room. Speaking of the press room, I hear they gave you a box for your poems."  
  
"Yes," CJ admitted, picking up the box to show the president.  
  
After commenting on the historical roots of carved boxes and the particular style of inlaid rose, he opened the cover. "Wow, you have quite a few of these." Then picking up the two that didn't want to lie flat the way the others did, he asked, "What happened to these – particularly this one?" he held up the taped-together poem by its corner.  
  
"The rolled one Josh put in a bottle and the other one I tore up one morning when I was in a bad mood."  
  
"Well, I'm glad you weren't mad at me." The president replaced the poems, closed the box and handed it back to CJ. "Leo actually thinks this Enquirer thing will be good for public opinion. Not that that matters. Anyway, if there's anything either of you would like to talk to me about or ask me, let me know."  
  
CJ stared at the president uncomprehendingly for a moment, and then decided to take the bait. "Actually, Mr. President, I was wondering if you could tell me something."  
  
"Shoot."  
  
"When a man and a woman love each other –"  
  
"I'm out of here," the president announced, realizing that he had walked right into that.  
  
"But –"  
  
"CJ, I have it on very good authority that you don't need anyone to tell you anything about sex."  
  
Now Danny looked confused. "Whose?"  
  
"Hers," the president answered immediately pointing to CJ. Seeing the opportunity to turn the tables on her, he added, "She hasn't warned you? Son, I hope you're in excellent physical condition," and he turned and left before either of them could say any more.  
  
"You've been talking with the president about your sexual prowess?" Danny asked, sounding highly interested.  
  
"Once, a long time ago, I said a thing in mixed company, and I was afraid it would come out in the papers, so, yeah, I told the whole senior staff, and when they asked why I said it, I said it was true." CJ was quite red in the face by this time.  
  
"What's true?"  
  
"That I'm great in bed," CJ said lightly as she left.  
  
---  
  
CJ had been too busy to see Danny the rest of the day, and had even had a dinner meeting. So the next time Danny walked towards CJ's office, he was in his tux, going to get her for the First Lady's birthday party. He noticed that now ALL the shades for her office were closed and wondered what she had in mind for him. Knocking on the door, he said, "CJ, it's Danny."  
  
The door opened slightly, "Come in."  
  
When he did, the door closed and locked immediately behind him, and he could see why. "You change clothes in your office?" he asked hoarsely. "I think I'm glad I never knew that before."  
  
"Oh please. I have bare feet and my zipper's not all the way up, but it's not like I'm indecent."  
  
"But you were just a minute ago, weren't you?"  
  
"I was in my underwear," CJ admitted with a shrug and a dismissive wave. "I have bathing suits that cover less than that, though. Could you help with the zipper?"  
  
"Okay. When do I get to see you in these bathing suits?" Danny easily fastened the dress.  
  
"Soon," CJ promised, turning to kiss him. At a knock on the door, CJ reluctantly pulled away and opened it. For Josh.  
  
"Hey guys, the First Lady asked me to stop by and make sure you made it to the party."  
  
"Remind me to thank her," CJ said sarcastically as she took Danny by the hand and led the two men out of her office and towards the party.  
  
"Oh, you'll want to especially thank her for asking Leo and Toby to make sure you make it home safely and alone tonight."  
  
"What am I, sixteen?"  
  
"I hear you asked the president a question that would suggest that maybe you're younger than that."  
  
CJ rolled her eyes and they went to enjoy the party, CJ trailing two men behind her.  
  
---  
  
Hours later, CJ decided that though she hadn't know what to expect at the birthday party, this degree of public scrutiny wasn't it. Not that she was unused to being in the public eye, but she felt guilty that they seemed to be drawing more attention than the guest of honor. "Mrs. Bartlet," CJ began.  
  
"Abbey," the First Lady corrected firmly.  
  
"Abbey, I hope you know I haven't been trying to steal the limelight tonight."  
  
Abbey glanced around looking concerned. "Watch your mouth, Claudia! If my husband had heard you, we would all now be enduring a lecture on the invention, drawbacks, and historical importance of limelight."  
  
"Already heard it."  
  
"You think that would stop him?"  
  
"Point taken."  
  
"CJ, I've encouraged people to pay attention to you and Danny tonight. This is a relatively closed party, and Danny might not have been aware of the degree of scrutiny to expect. Plus I ALWAYS ask Jed not to do a big thing for my birthday, but he always does, anyway."  
  
"Oh. Okay."  
  
"Go dance one last with Danny and then I'll have Leo and Toby take you home." CJ glared, but did as she was told. 


	5. National Cherry Blossom Festival

Title: "A Volume of Springtime Haiku" (5/6) (CJ/Danny.  
Author: soft lite.  
Poetry written by CJ Clanton  
Characters: CJ, Danny, Josh, Gail, Toby, Leo, various reporters, and some tourists.  
Rating: G.  
Disclaimer: Characters from "The West Wing" are not mine. Monopoly isn't mine, either.  
Spoilers: Through Season 5's "The Warfare of Genghis Khan." Archive: If you want to.  
Author's note: A big thank you to CJ Clanton for volunteering to write poetry for this story! At long last, I will write the game of Monopoly that Spooky asked for long ago. Thanks also to Athena for discussing conflict of interest and what it's like to be in the public eye with me…ya'll can blame or thank her ;P for some pieces of this part. Which is NOT to say that I'm going to deal fully or realistically with conflict of interest…you've been warned.  
  
Saturday, March 27, 2004  
  
Danny woke up after a good night's sleep and decided that though the previous evening had been somewhat stressful, dancing with CJ had been worth it. He got up and went through his usual routine. Until he got to one of the inside sections of The Post. Then he grabbed the phone.  
  
"CJ."  
  
"I swear I knew nothing about it, and if I had, I would have tried to talk them out of it."  
  
"What are you talking about?"  
  
"There's a thing in The Post."  
  
"I'm not surprised. The White House photographer took our picture, it was released along with lots of others. I would have guessed it was even odds that they'd mention us and maybe include the picture."  
  
"You haven't read it yet."  
  
"No. Why?" CJ was starting to sound worried, and Danny could hear her flipping through the paper. He could imagine that when she found the page, the first thing her eyes would focus on after the photo was:  
  
My first vow to you I've waited so long to say CJ, I love you  
  
After a few more seconds of silence. "I'll kill him."  
  
"Which one?"  
  
"Josh!"  
  
"He couldn't have known that someone would find a poem he'd hidden during the First Lady's party."  
  
"Well, he evidently expected SOMEONE would find it SOMETIME or he wouldn't have put it there!"  
  
"He probably expected YOU to find it. And even if he thought someone else would, there was no way he could have guessed that someone would turn it over to a reporter."  
  
"So you don't think I should kill him?"  
  
"No. Though I'm going to give a certain reporter a piece of my mind."  
  
"Do me a favor?"  
  
"Any time."  
  
"When you're talking to that reporter, eventually agree to forgive him on the condition that he gives you the card. I want it for my box."  
  
"Okay."  
  
"Okay. I've got to get ready and go to work."  
  
"How long do you have to work this Saturday?"  
  
"I don't know yet."  
  
"It's the opening day of the National Cherry Blossom Festival."  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"If you had some free time, we could take a walk."  
  
"I'd like that. But let's not do the official Blossoms Secrets Stroll – I could probably give that tour myself by now. Stop by later and see if I'm going to have any time."  
  
"Okay."  
  
---  
  
CJ had arrived at work not all that long after her conversation with Danny. She had taken the time to leave messages using very choice words for Josh both at his apartment and at work. When he arrived, she would have more to say to him. Meanwhile, she was plowing through paperwork, hoping that she would be able to leave the White House at some point during daylight hours.  
  
Josh poked his head in the door. "You left a very tactful message indicating you wanted to speak to me?"  
  
CJ glared at him over the rims of her glasses. "Where was that poem hidden?"  
  
"Under the bowl of Goldfish crackers."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"I thought you would have some crackers and see the mint-colored card peeking out."  
  
"I didn't."  
  
"I realized that when I saw the poem in the paper this morning."  
  
"Don't ever hide one of those things in such a public place again."  
  
"Yes, ma'am." Josh saluted.  
  
With another glare, CJ asked, "Was it you who used the spare key to my apartment and left one on my pillow yesterday?"  
  
"What did it say?"  
  
"Josh!"  
  
"Well, Carol might have had the same idea…"  
  
CJ sighed and recited the poem:  
  
Soon will be our time and we can be together never be apart  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Don't let yourself into my apartment unless I ask you to."  
  
"Right."  
  
"And stay away from Gail," CJ added, picking up Gail's bowl so she could inspect it closely. "I don't want to find any more filthy things in her bowl."  
  
"It couldn't have been dirty, CJ, I just bought it at a hobby store."  
  
"Go."  
  
---  
  
As Danny approached CJ's office at about ten, he heard her exasperated voice. "Toby, unlike you, I would like to spend a little time OUTDOORS this weekend! It's spring, the sun is out, it's sort of warm –"  
  
"You're in love."  
  
"It's the weekend. And YES, I AM in love!"  
  
Danny stepped in the doorway. "It's really nice to hear that, though it's not the tone of voice I prefer." CJ's hands fell from her hips and a smile spread across her face as she approached Danny and slipped her fingers through his belt loops to draw him close for a long kiss.  
  
At least as long as was possible with Toby shuffling around, clearing his throat. When they finally parted, CJ once again let Toby know about her feelings. "Thank you so very much, Tobias, for that charming, romantic serenade."  
  
"We have work to do, CJ."  
  
"You mean you're creating busywork for us! Tell me, Toby, is Andi out of town this weekend?!"  
  
"Whoa!" Leo cut in as he arrived. "Let's not diss one another's private lives. Toby, I read your thing. I think it might be a good idea, but I don't think you know well enough where you're going, to drag anyone else in. So you go work on it, and maybe tomorrow or Monday you'll be able to convince me to put more senior staff on it. CJ, we need you back in the Oval to talk about that other thing again. Danny, unless something else comes up, CJ will be done at noon, so go kill two hours." No one looked entirely happy, but everyone did as Leo instructed.  
  
Danny was surprised to find a half dozen reporters in the press room when he arrived. Mark was the first to see him. "So Danny, declaring your love once in print wasn't enough?"  
  
"I didn't know he had the poem."  
  
"If you have any more on you, could you hand them out so we can all write stories about your love life, too?" Katie asked with a wink.  
  
Danny just rolled his eyes and shook his head, so Steve asked, "So what's CJ doing today?"  
  
"I don't know."  
  
"You haven't seen her or spoken to her yet today?" Laura asked, incredulous.  
  
"The rest of this is off the record. We spoke on the phone early this morning and again in her office just now."  
  
"But you don't know what she's here doing?" Chris sounded skeptical.  
  
"No. Believe it or not, there are other things I'd prefer to discuss with her."  
  
Mark still found this hard to believe. "What's the good of dating the White House Press Secretary if she won't tell you what she's working on?"  
  
"Obviously you've never kissed CJ Cregg," Danny commented sarcastically.  
  
"I have," Katie piped up. When everyone looked at her inquisitively, she explained, "On the cheek! When she won that award."  
  
Frank asked, "Is that as far as you've gotten?"  
  
Everyone looked at Frank like he had a hole in his head. "Frank," Steve explained, "they haven't had a moment really alone together."  
  
"Just kisses," Danny confirmed. "And now I'm going to work." They watched him curiously as he set up his laptop, then returned to their own work.  
  
---  
  
At noon, Danny went to CJ's office and found Josh there, hiding poems. "She told you not to put any more in public places?"  
  
Josh had nearly fallen off the chair he was standing on when Danny's voice startled him, "I could have broken my neck! And yes. Also I can't hide any more in her apartment unless she gives me permission to go there."  
  
"You broke into her apartment?"  
  
"Carol has the key in her desk."  
  
"I bet she'll be asked to move that so you can't find it."  
  
"Yeah – or you."  
  
At that moment, a lemon poem dropped from the ceiling on Danny's head. "It's a good thing I wasn't looking up right then or this could have put my eye out."  
  
Winter cannot hold She is my forever Spring Tulips bloom for her  
  
"Might I suggest you not place any in places where they could fall and hurt people?"  
  
"You two are no fun at all. Oh, I was supposed to tell you CJ won't be free until 1."  
  
"So, they're on schedule as usual."  
  
"Yeah."  
  
Danny sighed and looked at his watch. "Has she eaten?"  
  
"No more than a snack."  
  
"I'll get lunch reservations for 1."  
  
"I can come?"  
  
"No," Danny replied firmly as he left.  
  
---  
  
At 12:45, CJ strolled into the press room and said, "Let's go," without looking up as she fumbled in her purse for her sunglasses.  
  
"Great!" Frank said enthusiastically, "Where are we going?"  
  
CJ looked around in surprise, "Sorry guys, just Danny."  
  
---  
  
Danny and CJ enjoyed their lunch at an outdoor table of a restaurant a few blocks from the Tidal Basin. They turned their chairs so they could watch the kite festival, and had fun guessing which kite would be next to fall. As they ate, they were surprised by the number of tourists who snapped their photo or asked for their autographs. "It's so romantic!" one woman gushed. CJ and Danny smiled into each other's eyes.  
  
When they left hand in hand to take a walk near the cherry trees, they were not entirely surprised to find a group of tourists trailing them. At one point, CJ turned to address them, pointing towards the group gathering at the Smithsonian Metrorail Station. "There's an official tour starting in a couple minutes, no reservations needed." No one left their group, and CJ shrugged and returned her attention to the cherry buds, the kites, Danny, and their walk.  
  
A little later, their friends from the White House press corps joined them. "You have quite a following here, CJ," Chris observed.  
  
"How do you know they're not following Danny?" CJ asked, glancing around and seeing there were now even more people following them.  
  
"Who would follow HIM?" Steve asked.  
  
"I would," CJ commented. "Well, this is where lots of people here for the National Cherry Blossom Festival are walking, so it could just be a coincidence." But even she didn't sound convinced. "I tried to encourage them to go join one of those walking tour groups, but they seem to prefer watching us hold hands."  
  
Frank teased, "Maybe you could bore them away by sharing some of the information the president has shared with you."  
  
Mark quickly corrected, "He meant from Claudia's House of Useless Information."  
  
CJ glared at both of them and glanced at her watch, "Well, I wouldn't want to deprive them of fascinating facts about DC's cherry trees, but I've only got about 15 minutes left before I need to be back at the White House." With that, CJ turned around, switching from her right to her left hand in Danny's and spoke in a loud voice: "The first National Cherry Blossom Festival was held in DC in 1935 to celebrate the gift of 3,020 cherry trees given by Japan to the United States in 1912. 3,800 more trees were donated by Japan in 1965. There are at least a dozen varieties of cherry trees in DC…" 


End file.
